Atlantic City (released in the US in 1981), directed by Louis Malle, is a terrific movie that leaves you wishing for another hour with these characters. It stars Susan Sarandon as Sally, a woman from Saskatchewan Canada, who now lives in Atlantic City. The movie opens with her neighbor Lou (played by Burt Lancaster) watching Sally through their facing windows as she performs a nightly ritual of rubbing lemon juice on her skin and washing it off. Lou used to be a small time hood for the mob. He used to protect the wife of the boss. His big story is he shared a cell with Bugsy Siegel.

Sally is trying to make a better life for herself; she is working at the seafood counter at a buffet in one of the casinos. But Sally wants a more; she is taking classes to become a coupier and dreams of moving to Monaco. She listens to opera and French language lessons on her little portable radio which she carries around in her purse.

However, things go awry for Sally when her husband shows up in town. We had previously met Dave (played by Robert Joy) when he had stolen a small package of drugs from a phone booth. With Dave comes Sally’s pregnant sister Chrissie (played by Hollis McLaren). Sally is obviously angry, Dave had messed things up for her in Las Vegas and then knocked up her sister and took off. Atlantic City is a new start for Sally, a new chance and she doesn’t want Dave and Chrissie around.

She lets them stay one night in her apartment and then runs off to her coupier class. Dave goes off in search of a connection to sell the stolen drugs to and runs into Lou who helps him. Things don’t go so well for Dave and Lou ends up with the cash, the drugs and the connection to sell them.

Lou is revitalized by the circumstances and buys himself a snazzy new suit. He is a big shot with the shoe shine guy he meets in the bathroom, the two knew each other “back when,” and Lou tips him big. Things take a turn for the worse when the men who Dave stole the drugs from come after Sally and Lou.

Malle got the funding to make Atlantic City in 1979 with the stipulation that he complete filming by the end of 1979. He cast his girlfriend at the time, Susan Sarandon, who suggested her playwright friend John Guare to write the screenplay. Guare suggested setting the story in Atlantic City, and Malle created a fascinating time capsule of the city as the old buildings fell and the new ones began. They started filming at the end of October, and finished by December 31^st.

You don’t have to dig too deep for the metaphor in Atlantic City. In 1979, when this movie was made, Atlantic City was going through revitalization. Legalizing gambling was their solution to urban decay, and Malle does a great job showing the old and the new. Sally’s apartment is half boarded up and due for demolition. The casino where she works is 1979 swanky, all red velvet and mirrors. So, right, metaphor time? Everyone’s got dreams—Sally is going to be a coupier in Monaco, Lou used to be a big time hood, and is the great protector who can save Sally from the men who are after her, Sally is an intriguing mystery in the window rubbing lemon juice on her arms, and Atlantic City is gonna make it this time. And when reality sets in and things don’t work out so well? They adjust.

I was highly disappointed that as a movie funded by French and Canadian studios and directed by none other than Louis Malle himself, Atlantic City had an almost hopeful ending. And in 1979, the city, like the movie, had all sorts of reasons to be optimistic. Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal was in their future. When I lived in New York I used to love to go to Atlantic City, it was the cheapest weekend getaway I could afford. As I watched this film,  I found myself eating up the locations, looking for something familiar. I was delighted when they filmed a scene in the iconic White House sub shop. Little did they know what would happen in 30 years? But don’t feel bad for Atlantic City, it’s due for re-revitalization soon.